Seaming head for can-closing machines



Oct. 8, .1 929- cs. F. JACKSON SEAMING HEAD FOR CAN CLOSING MACHINE-S Filed Feb. 23. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet vl Oct. 8, 1929. G. F. JACKSON SEAMING HEAD FOR CAN CLOSING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 215. i927 vious and will in Patented Get. 8, 1929 UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE F. JACKSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO CONTINENTAL CAN COMPANY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK SEAMING- HEAD FOR CAN CLOS1N G I MACHINES Application filed February 23, 1927. Serial No. 170,282.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in seaming heads for can closing machines, and more particularly to a seaming head provided with a chuck and a body portion rotatable relative thereto, which body portion carries seaming rolls for rolling the can end and flange on the can body into a double seam.

An object of the invention is to provide a seaming head of the above type wherein the seaming roll is mounted on the support therefor, so that it is free to rotate and move sidewise during the forming of the seam, whereby said seaming roll may be caused to im pinge on the chuck and rotation thus imparted to said seaming roll.

A further object of the invention is to pro-- vide a seaming head of the above type Wherein the seaming roll is held on its supportsolely by inter-engagement with the chuck.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a seaming head of the above type with a removable plate at the lower face thereof for closing the opening through the seaming roll so as to hold the roller bearing in place and prevent the lubricant therefor from escaping.

These and other objects will in part be obpart be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings-- Figure 1 is a sectional view through a seaming head embodying my improvements, the section being taken through the first operation rolls; I

Fig. 2 is a similar view through the seaming head taken through the second operation rolls- Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing a por tion of the can, the chuckand the seaming roll at the completion of the first operation, and

Fig. 4 is a similar view at the completion of the second operation.

The invention is directed to a seaming head having a rotating chuck and seaming rolls which have inter-engaging parts. Either the chuck is rotated to rotate a can which is to be closed, or, if the chuck is stationary, then the body portion of the head is rotated, which causes the seaming rolls to travel about the can. The seaming rolls are preferably carried by levers which are cam-actuated for bringing the seaming rollsinto contact with the can end and for rolling the can end, together with the flange on the can body into a double seam. The first operation rolls are brought into contact with the can end and the first operation completed; then the second operation rolls are brought into engagement with the seam for finishing the closing of the seam. The invention is particularly directed to the manner of mounting the seaming rolls on the seaming levers. The seaming roll is mounted on the seaming lever so thatit is capable of moving endwise, that is, endwise of the lever, and said seaming rolls are held on their respective levers by their inter-engagement with the chuck. Each seaming lever carrier a supporting stud for the seaming roll,

lower face of the seaming roll, and this plate serves to hold the roller bearings in place and prevent the escape of the lubricant for the seaming roll. During the seaming operation, there is always a thrust produced on the seaming roll through the rolling of the metal into the double seam. This thrustis in a downward direction. The downward thrust 011 the seam ng roll Wlll tend to move said seaming roll along the roller bearing endwise of the seaming lever, until the flange on theseaming I- roll impinges against the projecting flange on thechuck. This brings about a frictional engagement between the chuck and the seaming roll, so that if the chuckis rotating, it will drive the seaming roll, and if the chuck is stationary, and the seaming roll traveling bodily around the chuck, again the seaming roll will be caused to rotate. The advantage of this frictional drive of the seaming roll by the chuck is to insure that the seaming roll shallv always be rotating and not come to a standstill so as to slip over the seam and thus pro duce a dead head.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the seaming head includes a body portion 1 on Whichis mounted a chuck 2. l his chuck is rotatable in a bearing 3'.- A spindle is attached to the chuck for rotating the same. Instead of rotating the chuck, the body portion ofthe head may rotate about the chuck, in which case, the spindle will be used to hold the chuck from rotation, It is essential that either the body portion of the head rotate, carrying the seaming rolls mounted thereon around the can, or that the chuck rotate, in which case the head is held stationary, and the can is rotated within the seamingrolls.

- The seaming'rolls, according to the present embodiment of the invention, are mounted on levers. These levers are arranged in pairs, andfeach lever-carries a seaming roll. In Fig. 1* there issh'own tne lever-s41, l which carry the" seaming rolls 5-, 5; These are the first operation r'oll's: In Fig. 2 there are levers 6, 6 whi'c'h-carry seaming rolls 7-, 7, and these are the second operation rolls. Each lever is pivoted at 8', and is swung on its pivot by a cam 9 which ismounted on-th'e seaming head so thatit maybemoved longitudinally of the chuck spindle. This cam" engages a member 10 when it is moved in an endwise direction and sw-ings thelever outwardly at its upper end; thus causing the seaming roll to engage the can end and roll theend and-flange on the can end into a seam. The second operation rolls'a're each pivoted at 11 and operated by a cam 12which' engages a member 13 carried by the" seaming lever. This cam 12" moves the upper end of the lever outwardly and brings the secondoperation rolls-into engage ment withthe seam for performing'the finishing" operation on the seam. It is understood, of" course,,that the first operation rolls perform'their function, a f-ter which they are retracted and the second operation rolls ar brought into action.

The structure ot'the seaming head described above, and one metho d ofoperat-ing the same, isshown and" described in the patent granted 1. F.,'Warme, June 24,1919,N*0. 1,307,888, and further detail description thereof is not thought necessary.

The'chuck 2is provided with a portion 13 which is adapted to seat within the recess of the can end which isto'be attached" to the can body. The-chuck is provided with? an annular groove'l, and with a projecting annularportion 1 5 at the upper side of" this groove 14. Each seaming roll 's'prov'ided with an annular groove 16, thus forming spaced projecting membersd'? and 18. Theseaming roll is also providedwith a seaming groove 19. The annular groove 16 receives the projecting portion 1'5 of the chuck and this forms the interengagement between the chuck and the seam- ,isc

ing roll. it will be noted that the member 17 on the seaming roll overlies the projecting member on the chuck. These parts are thus inter-engaged throughout the entire operation of the seaming head. When the machine is stopped, the seaming lever, however, may be disconnected from the head or may be constructed to move so as to bring the seaming roll out of engagement with the chuck. The seaming lever is provided with a supporting stud or member 20 which is secured to the seaming lever by means of a nut 21. This supporting stud 20 is solid throughout. The roller bearing: 22 fitson over the stud. The stud is shouldered as indicated at 23, which shoulder bears against a hardened plate 24? attached to the seaminglever, and the nut 21 drawsthe shoulder up against the seaming lever. This makes a rigid support for the supporting stud 20. The seamingroll is provided with an opening 2 1, and this opening is of proper size so that the seaming roll may be slipped on over the roller bearing 22 The seaming roll is placed on the roller bearing, or the seaming roll with the roller bearing placed on the stud, when theseaming leven'is moved outwardly at itslower end, so as to permit the seamingro'll topassthe projection on the chuck. When the seaming lever is brought back into normal position, then the projecting member 15' on the chuck will enter the annular groove 16 oi-the seaming roll and hold the seaming roll on the scanning lever. This isthe only means of holding the seaming rollonthe supporting studt here'for, and otherwise, the seaming roll is free to move ,sidewise or endwise of the lever. It is, of course, free'to rotate on the levee; The lower face of the seamingroll is'pro'vided with a recess which is undercut, and aplate 25 is forced into this'recess. The plate has'atapered edge, and when forced into therecess, will'be heldtherein'through engagement with the undercut edge on theseaming roll. This plate is for the purpose of preventin the roller bearing from dropping. out, and also for preventing the lubricant whichis fed to the roller bear'ingthrough the passage 26 from a lubricatingchamber 27.

In an ordinary seaming head, the seaming roll is caused t'orotate throughthe frictional contact of the seaming roll'with the metal of the can end. When the can body and ca rend ar'eirotated thenthis frictional contact will produce a rotation oi theseamin'g rollr Bike- Wise, when the canbody is stationary, the rotation of the seaming head about the can and the bodily traveling of the seaming rolls around the end of the can wil l,-thr ougli the frictional engagement of the seamin roll with the metal of the can end, cause tlfe roll to rotate. It sometimes happens that the seaming roll stopsrotating. This possibly occurs more often in the second operation than in the first operation, but whenever it occurs, then the seaming roll slides along the metal instead of rolling up on to the metal, and this is apt to result in a bad seam, often referred to as a dead head.

In applicants seaming head, where the seaming roll is free to move endwise of the seaming lever, the thrust on the seaming roll incident to the rolling of the metal into the seam, is in a downward direction, and this downward thrust on the seaming roll will cause the projecting portion 17 on the seaming roll to engage the projecting portion 15 of the chuck. This causes the seaming roll to impinge on the chuck, and the chuck to frictionally drive the seaming roll through this impinging contact. If the chuck is rotating, this will impart through this impinging contact, a. frictional drive to the roll. If the chuck is stationary, then the bodily travel of the roll will cause said roll to rotate through this frictional impinging contact. In other words, in applicants seaming head, it is not the contact of the seaming roll with the metal alone that causes the roll to rotate, but the impinging contact of the seaming roll with the chuck also aids in the rotating of the seaming roll. The harder the thrust on the seaming roll during the forming of the seam, the harder will be the impinging contact of the seaming roll with the chuck. By the use of my improved seaming head, the seaming roll will always be caused to rotate during the forming of the seam, and imperfect seams due to the stopping of the rotation of the roll are avoided.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Lettors-Patent, is 7 1. A seaming head for closing machines including a chuck for engaging a can end and holding the same on the can body, a body portion, said chuck and body portion having a relative rotation, seaming levers carried by said body portion, a seaming roll mounted to rotate freely on said seaming lever, said seaming roll having a seam forming groove and a portion above said from adapted to overlie said chuck, said seaming roll being mounted on said seaming lever so as to move freely endwise of the lever whereby the thrust on the seaming roll incident to the forming of the seam will cause the overlying portion of the roll to impinge upon said chuck and be rotated thereby.

2. A seaming head for closing machines including a chuck for engaging a can end and holding the same on the can body, a body portion, said chuck and body portion having a relative rotation, seaming levers carried by said body, a seaming roll mounted to rotate groove and spaced therei freely on the seaming lever, said seaming roll having a seam forming groove and an annular groove formed therein separate from the seaming groove, said chuck having an annular projecting portion adapted to engage in said annular groove, said projecting portion and groove being of such dimensions as to maintain their engagement throughout the normal operation of the seaming head, said seaming roll being free to move endwise of said seaming lever and held thereon by the chuck whereby the thrust on the seaming roll incident to the forming of the seam will cause the roll to impinge upon the chuck and rotate.

3. A seaming head for closing machines including a seaming lever, a seaming chuck, a seaming roll, a solid supporting stud for said seaming roll carried by the seaming lever, a roller bearing on said stud between the stud and the seaming roll, said seaming roll having a seam forming groove and a portion above said groove and spaced therefrom adapted to overlie said chuck whereby the thrust on the seaming roll incident to forming of the seam will cause the overlying portion of the roll to impinge upon said chuck and be rotated thereby, said seaming roll having a recess in its under face and a plate secured in said recess and covering the opening in the seaming roll for the roller bearing and stud.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

GEORGE F. JACKSON 

